Going to the Moon is officially hip again, thanks in no small part to Google, which is offering $20 million to the first private company that can land on our nearest neighbor, roll around a bit, and beam images back to Earth. The latest contender for that sweet sweet X-Prize money is a Japanese company, which has…

National Transportation Safety Board chairman Christopher Hart told reporters on Sunday that the tail of SpaceShip Two lifted prematurely, after the pilot changed the aerodynamic controls of the aircraft. This introduced pilot error into the realm of possibility for the cause of the incident.

After Friday's tragic mid-air explosion and crash of Virgin Galactic's Space Ship Two, rocket industry experts have come forward, saying the company was warned of dangers in using nitrous oxide fuel in its rockets. One expert even said she was "shocked, but not surprised" that the crash occurred.